Bending apparatus



May 1.2, 1942.

4 Sheets-Sheet .1

May' 12, 1942. E. NIGHTINGALE BENDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 31, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 W 44 WW7 May" 12, 1942. E. NIGHTINGALE BENDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 51, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet s May 12, 1942.; E. NIGHTINGALEI BENDING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed 001.. 31, 1940 INVENTOR- L.|||||l|||||||ll|..

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II a Patented May 12, 1 942 res PATENT oricE 3 Claims.

My invention relates to bendingmachines and more particularly to machines for bending metal plates, bars and the like. vention is to provide a machine that will bend plates of very great length (along the line of bend) with great accuracy and without the springing of the bending dies that is frequently encountered in large bending machines. 7

Another object of my invention is to provide a bending machine of such form that the work can readily be slid into bending position.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a bending machine that is of simple form and capable of exerting great bending forces without the necessity of employing motors of excessively great horse power.

A further object of my invention is to provide a bending machine unit capable of convenient attachment to other units, so thatthe units may work in unison on work pieces of very great length.

Some of the forms which my invention may take are shown in the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a plan view; Fig. 2 is an end elevational View; Fig. 3 is a view taken on the line III-III of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the hold-down elements of Figs. 1 and 2, with certain of its associated parts; Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line VV of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a front view of the machine; Fig. 7 is a view showing a modification of a portion of the operating mechanism of Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 8 is a view showing rocking. means for the work-gripping arms in addition to the spring of the other figures, and Fig. 9 shows a manner in which two bending machines can be connected to work as one.

Referring first to Figs. 1 tot, Iprovide foundation beams I B that extend forwardly and rearwardly for supporting the housings for the holddown and bending elements. Two of these housings H and I2 are provided at the front One object of my inangles 20 secured to thesides of .the disc, for

the reception of a bending bar [9 which,-as shown suitable reduction gearing indicated at 23, which reduction gearing. may conveniently be ofthe double worm type. d The reduction gearing is driven from a shaft 24 of a motor (not shown). The motor will preferably be of the reversing type, whereby the pinions can be driven in both directions, to eiiect oscillation of the bending element l4. 1

Posts 26 are provided on the beams It, for supportinganvilbars 21, the barsextending from the post 26 at one end of the machine to the post at the other end of the machine, and are braced by angles 29 and 29a on the housings and the posts 26. A plate 28 is supported at its front edge by the angles 29 andits rear edge is supported upon brackets 30 that are carried by'a' pair of rear -hOU.SiI1gs '3|; oneof these housings being mounted on each of the beams I0 at the rear ends of such beams. A stop bar 32 of angular form is supported upon the plate 28 by bolts 33, the plate 28 being provided with slots 34 of a desired length to permit of adjustment .of the stop 32 forwardly and rearwardly of the machine, in accordance with the point at which it side of the machine, and each comprises side plates 13 (Fig. 3) that are rigidly secured to their respective base beams It and serve to partially enclose and support an oscillatory bending member M which is of approximately semi-circular form and is provided with gear teeth I5. Each semi-circular disc it is provided with an arcuate ribor thickened portion 46 that fits between and is supportedby ribs I 1 and I 8 that are formed on the inner walls of the side plates l3, whereby the discs M are supported for rocking movement in the housings II and 12. Each of the discs 14 is provided with a rectangular slot reinforced by is desired to position a work piece 35 for bending.

The bar'32 could obviously' be adjusted by horizontal screws mechanically driven.

Hold-down arms 31' are provided at the ends of the machine, each arm being pivotally supported by a pin or shaft 38 in its associated housing 3|. These arms at their inner ends carry brackets 39 that serve as supports for a hold-down or bending bar 40 that extends from end to end of the machine. A hardened steel strip 4! is secured by suitable screws, to the underside of the bar 49. The bar 40 may be welded or otherwise secured to a bar 42 that extends the full length of the machine and may in turn be welded at its ends to the brackets 39, and stiffener blocks or plates 43 are welded between the members 39, 40 and 42 to strengthen the same and to form connecting diaphragmswhen adding units in end-to-end relation as hereinafter referred to.

The plate 42 may suitably be of increased width at its mid portion as is the plate l9 shown in Fig. 6, in order to provide still greater resistance to flexing or springing under bending stresses. The bar 42 is shown as having a key-way slot 44 and holes 45 that may be employed in shearing attachments or the like (not shown).

A spring casing 46 is secured to each of the housings 3| to serve as a seat for a spring 41 that extends through the adjacent wall of the housing and seats against the lower end of the adjacent hold-down arm 31, to bias such arm in a counter-clockwise direction and thus lift the inner end thereof from the work piece 35 a slight distance at the completion of a bending operation.

In order to hold down or clamp the work upon.

the anvil 21, I provide a roller 49 that is journaled on a shaft or bolt 50, which is carried by webs formed interiorly of each arm 31. Each roller 49 is engaged by a cam block 52, the cam blocks 1 'shown in Fig. 5, the cam blocks 52 are out of the path of the rollers 49, so that the arms 31 can be tilted clockwise a desired distance clear of the work piece. The bars 53 have connection with a piston 6| contained within a cylinder 62 to which fluid pressure is admitted and exhausted through pipes 63 and 64 to effect reciprocatory movements of the bars 53.

In Fig. 8 I show a cylinder 65 pivotally mounted on a wing or flange 65a. that is carried by one of the housings 3|. A piston is contained within the cylinder and has a piston rod connected to the hold-down arm 31. Fluid pressure is admitted to the rear side of the piston to swing the arm from the position of Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 8. This distance is much greater than that to which it will be swung by the spring 41, and will be required where that portion of the work piece which extends rearwardly of the bar is angular'or of other than fiat form, so

that the work piece can be inserted and removed.

When the parts of the machine are in position to receive a'piece of work, the upper edges 64 of the bending elements I4 are retracted to a horizontal position as in Fig. 1. At this time,

the camming bars 53 are also retracted, so thatthe springs 41 may maintain the hold-down arms 31 in released position. Thereupon work may be slid across the upper edges of the housings H and I2 into position against the stop 32, from a furnace or other source. The motor which drives the shaft 24 is then energized to set the transmission mechanism in motion to rock the bending elements I 4 toward the position shown in Fig. 2. The motor will be stopped at the point where the desired angularity of bend has been made on the work piece 35. It will be seen that various degrees of bend may be provided, either less or greater than 90. A suitable limit switch or combined limit and reversing switch mechanism 66 is provided, which has a turn button 61 and an indicator hand 68 that may be adjusted so thatthe motor will automatically be stopped at the desired degree of to bend a plate against the hold-down member,

bend. This limit and reversing switch may be of various well-known forms and is operated by the shaft 22, when said shaft has turned the desired number of revolutions.

The unit as thus far described may suitably be of a length for bending sheets eight feet or 10 feet long. For the bending of still longer pieces, another unit of this same construction can be placed in endwise alignment but spaced from the first unit. In this instance, as shown in Fig. 9, an additional bending bar l9a. will be placed in the adjacent ends of the two units, the said bending bar extending into the slots formed in the adjacent bending elements l4 and having end-to-end abutting relation with the bars I9 at I0 (Figs. 6 and 9), these inserted bending bars in effect bridging the two units, so that sheets equal in length to three of the bending bars l9 can be employed, it being understood, of course, that the two units and the three longitudinallyaligned bending bars l9 will operate in unison. Also, an intermediate shaft II will be connected to the end 12 of the shaft 22 in one unit and to the end of the shaft 22 carried by the other unit. The slide bar 53-54 which carries the cam blocks will be connected by an intermediate bar 14 from its end 13 to the camming bar of the adjacent unit, so that the hold-down arms of the two units can be operated in unison. Likewise, an intermediate hold-down bar 42a will be provided to bridge the space between the two units, the bar 42a extending into the brackets 39 at their ends and held therein by welding to blocks 43.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 7, hold-down arms 15 are provided for the work piece 16, and bending elements 11 with their containedbending bars 18 are tiltably supported in. the frame in a manner similar to the members l4 and [9. In this instance, however, the oscillatory elements 11 are provided with arms 19 to which rack bars are pivotally connected, the rack bars being raised and lowered by pinions 8|, at each end of the machine, the pinions being driven in a suitable manner as by the shaft 22. An anti-friction thrust bearing 82 is provided to back up each rack bar 80 against the thrust of its pinion 8|, the bar 80 being tiltable on the bearing during up and down movements.

I claim as my invention:

1. Bending apparatus comprising a table for receiving plates and the like for bending, a pair of segmental members mounted for oscillatory movement about an axis adjacent to the forward edge of the table and normally positioned in a plane below the table, a bending bar supported at its ends by said members, adjacent to but spaced from the axis of oscillatory movement, a hold-down member positioned above the table and offset from the'said axis, and means for rocking the oscillatory members in a direction the said means comprising spur gear teeth on the peripheral edges of the oscillatory members and spur toothed driving pinions therefor, positioned below the plane of the table on a. radial line which extends at approximately 30 to the plane of the table.

2. Bending apparatus comprising a table for receiving plates and the like for bending, uprights at therear edge of the table, hold-down arms of angular form pivotally mounted on said uprights and each having one leg extending upwardly from beneath the table and its other leg extending from the pivotal point across the table to the forward edge thereof, means operable beneath the table, to rock the arms into and out of engagement With a plate on the table, a pair of segmental members mounted for oscillatory movement about an axis adjacent to the forward edge of the table, a bending bar carried by the segmental members, and means for rocking the segmental members and the bar, to bend the plate against the hold-down arms, the said means comprising spur gear teeth on the peripheral edges of the oscillatory members and spur toothed driving pinions therefor, the driving pinions being positioned forwardly of the table and below the plane thereof, approximately on a radial line which bisects a 90 path of bending movement by the oscillatory members.

3. Bending apparatus comprising a table for receiving plates and the like for bending, up-

rights at the rear edge of the table, hold-down arms of angular form pivotally mounted on said 20 uprights and each having one leg extending upwardly from beneath the table and its other leg extending from the pivotal point across thetable to the forward edge thereof, means operable beneath the table, to rock the arms into and out of engagement with a plate on the table, a pair of segmental members mounted for oscillatory movement about an axis adjacent to the forward edge of the table and normally positioned below the plane of the table, a bending bar carried by the segmental members, and means for rocking the segmental members and the bar upwardly to bend the plate against the hold-down arms, the said means comprising spur gear teeth on the peripheral edges of the oscillatory members and spur toothed driving pinions therefor, positioned below the plane of the table on a radial line which extends at approximately 30 to the plane of the table.

EDWARD NIGHTINGALE. 

